Helping you buy shoes and champagne by saving you money on cosmetics! A non biased, truly informative review on cosmetic and toiletry products, in terms of value for money, effectiveness, ability to back up the claims and pampering factor. I also have my own brand which you view at www.english-rose-cosmetics.com

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Friday, 10 October 2014

Age Spots; what are they, how to prevent them and how to remove them

The sun emits 3 UV rays; A, B &
C. UVC doesn't penetrate the ozone so
we don't need to worry about that. UVB
is a shorter wave and is responsible for sunburn, redness and causing ageing in
the epidermis. UVA penetrates the skin further into the dermis and damages the DNA of
the melanocyte cells, causing them to over produce mutated (darker cells) which
cluster together.

During the 90's I lived in South Africa and used a
sunblock called SP20 which "allowed tanning without the sunburn" i.e.
it blocked UVB but not UVA which is more effective at tanning so I am a bit
concerned about how my skin is going to look in the next decade. It is advisable NOT to use sunbeds as they emit
high levels of UVA and it IS advisable to use a "broad spectrum"
sunblock i.e. it protects against UVA & UVB.

It is believed that sun exposure
before the age of 20 will determine how your skin will look when you reach your
50's, which is why there is such a big emphasis on putting sun protection on
children.

There are a variety of methods of treating age spots.

Skin peels, facials, ingredients to remove top
layer of skin to enhance penetration of actives

Using actives to speed up cell renewal to stop
mutated cells reaching full maturity

Using actives that inhibit the production of the
mutated melanocyte cells

Hydroquinone is a skin bleaching
agent and side effects are burning and scarring and sometimes worst skin
discolouration. It is found in a lot of
skin lightening creams for African skin and are banned in most countries - it
should be avoided and certainly never purchased off the shelf.Kojic Acid, Arbutin, Vitamin C & Liquorice extract
are all permitted in cosmetics and as they
all act in slightly different ways, they would have better synergy together.Scrubs, peels, micro-dermabrasion will remove dead
cells, revealing brighter ones, and make it easier for a skin lightening actives
to reach the dermis. Personally I'm not a big fan of facial scrubs (even
though I get a guilty pleasure when using them) as I know my cell turnaround is
working and speeding it up can have the opposite effect i.e. dry patches and
redness. Same goes for salicylic acid
and lactic acid peels, they can be too aggressive for some skins, although fine
for others.

Both these ingredients are clinically proven to inhibit
the mutation of the discoloured cells, which I shall try to explain as simply
as I can.

Bidens pilosa (yellow flower) is
such an amazing plant, I source it from a Brazilian company who organically
grow and harvest it and have conducted the studies to demonstrate its
effectiveness i.e. boost collagen and
elastin in the dermis to plump out wrinkles, regulate oiliness and was proven
(in-vitro) to be more effective than Kojic acid and Arbutin at reducing skin
lightening.

This is how it works…

It inhibits Tyrosinase (TYRP-1) which is required
for melanocytes to produce melanin from the amino acid tyrosine, this slows
down the amount of melanin produced, (remember the DNA damage causes excessive
cell mutation)

It inhibits the Melanocyte-stimulating hormone
(MSH) which is responsible in darker melanin. Incidentally MSH increases during
pregnancy causing increased pigmentation

Revinage compared favourably with Arbutin and Kojic
acid (known skin lightening actives) - also it has never been animal
tested.

Incidentally, English Rose
Cosmetics is approved by PETA and licensed to carry their logo.

Pelevetia is an algae sourced from
Brittany and has been clinically proven (in-vitro) to repair DNA, prevent the
degradation of elastin (interesting as a bust firming active in the future)
protects against UVB irradiation and reduces
redness. Pelevetia also inhibits tyrosinase and melanin
synthesis which are required to produce melanin cells. So it compliments and boosts the action of
Revinage.In conclusion, with Nighty Night Cream I've used
actives that will help prevent the appearance of age spots by working at the
level in the skin where they are made, it will also help stop existing age
spots getting larger and help reduce them gradually.The clinical studies can be emailed on request, and
can also be found online. Nighty Night Cream can be purchased here

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About Me

I started English Rose Cosmetics early 2012 using my 16 years of experience to select ingredients that have proven benefits with sublime textures.
Prior to that I've worked with Beauty Brands, Cosmetics Consultants and Contract Manufacturers to bring new innovative ingredients and marketing concepts. So I understand the Beauty industry from the chemistry and manufacturing side, I'm also a Chartered Marketer and offer Consultancy services for cosmetic brands.